With a nod to my former staff in a previous life, being publisher of Noozhawk is the most fun I’ve ever had professionally. One of the reasons is the opportunity to meet people like the teenagers competing for the coveted title of Goleta Teen of the Year.

For the last several years I’ve had the privilege of being a judge in the program run by my friends at the Rotary Club of Goleta Noontime. It’s a rewarding experience, and knowing that these young men and women are tomorrow’s civic leaders is reassuring.

And I know that’s a likely destiny for them because, in addition to the leadership they demonstrate in all the campus activities, clubs, student governments and nonprofit organizations with which they’re involved, the Rotary Club puts them to an arduous, year-long test. The process includes plenty of fun but it also instills in them the values of accountability, responsibility and teamwork.

It’s hard work, which is why this year’s five Goleta Teen of the Year finalists were culled from a group of 17 that started out as 51.

Joining Shandeep as finalists were first runner-up Nino Mireles and Preston Bies, Christina Blair and Michael Yi — all of whom are Dos Pueblos High seniors. Please join me in congratulating all five, along with their parents, who laid the groundwork and gave them the confidence, love and support they needed to succeed.

Of course, there’s never a downside to spending time with my friend, Larry Crandell, who has been the ceremony’s emcee for more than a decade. This year I had the privilege to share some of those duties with him, which made me appreciate how Mychal Thompson felt when he spelled Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Larry’s beloved Los Angeles Lakers.

Noozhawk’s newest public-engagement project, Let’s Talk Westside, is off to a strong start, with nearly 1,000 visitors so far, half of whom have registered to participate.

The virtual town hall is a joint project with the nonprofit Just Communities and it’s intended to develop ideas to improve and enhance Santa Barbara’s Westside as part of the larger THRIVE Westside initiative.

Denunzio’s Oct. 21 traffic stop has fueled a fierce community debate over just what happened when he and police Officer Aaron Tudor had their fateful meeting in the parking lot of Loreto Plaza. Denunzio’s attorney, Darryl Genis, has been rather open about his defense strategy, which includes making explosive allegations about Tudor and SBPD. Although Genis has yet to prove anything in court, he’s shared details about two women who — to their detriment, he says — crossed paths with Tudor almost a month after the Denunzio incident.

And so the Denunzio saga — which Noozhawk broke, by the way — continues.

If there was an 800-pound gorilla in the room, few people on the city payroll appeared to notice. The public comment got a little heated — thanks to the righteous indignation of John Hunter, one of the Loreto Plaza witnesses, as well as the presence of one of Santa Barbara’s most notorious publicity seekers — but otherwise it was business as usual at City Hall. As I said, odd.

Easton is a champion — and resident — of Old Town Goleta, a former chairman of the city’s first Planning Commission and a former Design Review Board member. He’s also got the coolest mustache of any elected official around.

Consistent with his planning background, the retired architect told our Sonia Fernandez that he would be concentrating on ways to make the city and its government more efficient.

Sares-Regis Group, the developer of Cabrillo Business Park, and the city of Goleta worked diligently to convince the homegrown shoe manufacturer to move to Goleta from Santa Barbara when it outgrew its multibuilding location. The result keeps a $4 billion company on the South Coast.

“It’s an opportunity for a young city like Goleta to establish itself as a pragmatic business-friendly steward of the future,” explained Angel Martinez, Deckers president and CEO.

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